21.05.2026 11:03
It was revealed that the investigation based in Adana, in which Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was also detained, was launched following the content of messages on a mobile phone seized and decrypted in 2024. The leader of the criminal organization, with whom approximately 200 billion lira worth of suspicious money movements were identified, was determined to be Selahattin Akın Uzun. It was understood that after it was determined that Uzun, who never came to Turkey, would come to Istanbul for a relative's wedding, the operation was planned according to the wedding date.
New details have emerged about the operation in which 135 suspects, including Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, were arrested.
The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, Bureau of Investigation into the Financing of Terrorism and Money Laundering Crimes, launched an investigation into a criminal organization considered to be a professional financial crime organization operating on a national and international scale. In the technical and physical surveillance initiated by the Adana Police Department's Cyber Crime Branch, it was determined that the organization, which was found to have committed the crimes of 'Illegal betting', 'Qualified fraud using information systems', 'Bribery', and 'Money laundering of proceeds from crime', laundered their criminal proceeds by circulating them through electronic money institutions, bank accounts, virtual POS systems, currency exchange offices, jewelers, shell companies, and crypto asset systems.
200 BILLION LIRA IN FUND FLOW
When bank transactions, digital material examinations, crypto asset analyses, and HTS records were examined, it was determined that the organization had established custom software infrastructures and panel systems, and provided financial infrastructure to illegal betting sites. In the analysis by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) and financial reviews within the scope of the investigation, suspicious fund movements and laundering activities totaling approximately 200 billion Turkish lira were detected.
DETENTION ORDER FOR 198 SUSPECTS
Within the scope of the investigation, detention orders were issued for 198 suspects, including 3 bank executives, 8 police personnel, 4 lawyers, journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, and the organization's leader Selahattin Akın Uzun. On May 14, police teams conducted operations at addresses determined in 21 provinces centered in Adana, detaining 161 suspects, including Uzun and Kütahyalı. A total of 221 properties, 120 vehicles, and 3 boats believed to belong to the suspects and their companies were confiscated.
INVESTIGATION CONDUCTED ON DECRYPTED PHONE
It was revealed that the case file for the operation against the international criminal organization was opened based on findings from a mobile phone seized during an operation in Adana in 2024. During an operation by Adana police targeting the crime of 'Qualified fraud' at the home of organization member Serdal Tanak, 8 unlicensed pistols, numerous cryptocurrency mining devices, and digital materials were seized. Cyber police cracked the password of the arrested Tanak's mobile phone and, during examination of the device, uncovered communications related to the organization's structure and activities.
KÜTAHYALI ADDED TO CASE WITH MASAK REPORTS
Deepening the investigation, police determined that Tanak, who was found to be acting on the instructions of organization leader Selahattin Akın Uzun, had a say in the organization's management and also organized its activities. Following these findings, evidence collection for the operation began. Kütahyalı, who is alleged to have been identified in the crime details, was added to the investigation file after the requested MASAK reports were obtained.
HE WAS RECEIVING A 70 PERCENT SHARE
Meanwhile, it was reported that Selahattin Akın Uzun, who is known to be a citizen of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), managed the organization from abroad. It was determined that Uzun, who had connections in Montenegro and the TRNC, used the TRNC as an operations center and established close ties with Halil Falyalı, who was killed in 2022, and his circle for digital data. It was understood that the operation was planned according to a wedding date after it was determined that Uzun, who had never come to Turkey, would come to Istanbul for a relative's wedding. Uzun, who was caught in Istanbul before attending the wedding, was found to have a 70 percent profit-sharing ratio within the organization. It was discovered that Uzun, whom organization members addressed as 'Big brother Akın', monitored financial movements in daily and weekly reports.
135 ARRESTS
After processing at the police station, 7 of the suspects were released on the prosecutor's orders, while 154 were referred to the courthouse on May 17. Of the suspects brought before the court, 135 were arrested, including Selahattin Akın Uzun, Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, and the already imprisoned Serdal Tanak, while 19 were released under judicial supervision.